Reimagining Job Quality in a Turbulent Era: Expanding Frameworks Amidst Transformation and Crisis

This introductory chapter outlines the conceptual and empirical challenges in measuring and understanding job quality given profound transformations in the world. While the importance of job quality has gained prominence in both academic and policy debates, existing frameworks remain largely static and are increasingly poorly equipped to capture the complexities of work in a turbulent era marked by digital transformation, climate crises, demographic shifts, and labour fragmentation. This volume addresses these challenges by proposing expansions to multidimensional job quality frameworks that incorporate emerging forms of work, such as platform labour, and transformative forces like algorithmic management and artificial intelligence. It explores how job quality dimensions interact and are shaped by institutional contexts, individual vulnerabilities, and broader normative considerations beyond personal well-being. The contributions aim to refine theoretical understandings and offer empirical insights that enable more effective analysis and policymaking. Together, they offer a renewed agenda for capturing and improving job quality in the face of evolving labour market realities